Direct discourse comment clause in final, initial, and medial positions (Ivan said, “I like chocolate ice cream.”)
This unit was written for elementary students, however, if you have older students who need to develop this structure, you can use a similar format with age-appropriate materials and activities.
As you develop this language component, use only language structures and concepts the students already know.
Tell students what they will learn and why
Introduction and Motivation
Use copies of cartoons or pages from comic books or graphic novels. The students should understand that the words in a speech balloon show what a character says and points to the character speaking, thinking, or dreaming.
- Show students a copy of a cartoon in which a mom is talking to a little girl. Ask: Who is talking in the picture? Response: Mom
- Ask: How do you know Mom is talking? Response: The speech balloon points to her.
- Tell the students that speech balloons make it easy to know who is talking. Tell them that sometimes their reading books use speech balloons.
- Ask: What other books use speech balloons? Elicit response: Comic books and graphic novels. Show them examples of each.
- Tell students that most books do not use speech balloons. What people say will be written in the story. You will learn how ‘talking’ is written in a story. You will need to know this to help you understand the story. There will not be any speech balloons to help you.
Teacher demonstration/modeling
- Students look at the picture and tell who is talking. Response: Mom.
- Ask: What is Mom saying?
- Tell the students that if there were no speech balloon, this sentence (what Mom says) would be in the story. It would look like this (write on the board): Mom said, “I will go to the library.”
-
Students look at the sentence in the speech
balloon and the sentence written on the
board. Point out the similarities and
differences, for example:
- There is no speech balloon so you have to write who is talking.
- Point to the words Mom said and tell them that these words tell who is talking. Review the verb say/said and what it means.
- Note the quotation marks and tell them that what is written between the quotation marks is what Mom says. Compare to what is written in the speech balloon (same).
-
Show a second picture with a speech balloon
(a picture of a girl giving her little
brother a glass of milk). Ask the
students what the girl is doing.
- Ask them what the girl is saying. Students respond.
- Ask: How do you know? Response: It’s in the speech balloon.
-
Tell the students you will show them how to
write what the girl says.
- Write on the board: The girl said, “Here is some milk.”
- Discuss the sentence: Point out the comma, the quotation marks, and show the students that what the person says begins with a capital letter.
-
Cover the picture and direct the students’
attention to the written sentences.
- Ask: Who is talking? Response: the girl.
- Ask: How do you know? Response: The words tell us (The girl said).
- Ask: What does the girl say? Response: Here is some milk.
- Ask: How do you know that is what the girl is saying? Response: The words are between the quotation marks.
- Show a third picture with a speech balloon. (The boy said, “I will ride that horse.”) Repeat the same steps used with the second picture.
Guided practice
If your students have some usable hearing, in all guided practice activities, encourage them to notice how the words/sentences look when lipreading and how they sound. If appropriate, present lipreading and auditory discrimination activities using the words and sentences from the unit.
Show the students another picture with a speech balloon (Grandpa is throwing a ball to a young girl. Grandpa said, “Catch the ball.”).
- Ask: Who is talking? After the
students respond, write on the board: Grandpa says, (point out the comma).
- Students respond, write it on the board after the words Grandpa said, but omit the quotation marks.
- Ask the students what is missing. After they respond, ask a student to put the quotation marks in the sentence on the board (Grandpa said, “Catch the ball.”)
- Discuss the sentence: Point out the comma, the quotation marks, and show the students that what the person says begins with a capital letter.
- Show another picture and write on the board: The girl said, “Throw the ball, Grandpa.”
- Ask: What did the girl say? Response: Throw the ball, Grandpa.
- Write on the board The girl says, “throw the ball, Grandpa.”(
- Ask what is wrong. After the response, ask a student to change the small letter t in throw to a capital letter.
- Discuss the sentence: Point out comma, quotation marks, and capital letter.
- Using
another picture, ask what the wolf said (The wolf said, “I
will blow your house down!”)
- Ask: What should I write first?
- Write their response, The wolf said on the board. Explain that a comma goes after the word, said.
- Ask what the wolf said. Write I will blow your house down!
- Ask: What else do we need? Add quotation marks to the sentence.
- Give each student a piece of paper. Tell them that they will look at a picture and then write a sentence telling what someone says.
- Show
another picture with a speech balloon (A boy riding his bike
and saying, “I can ride my bike fast!”). Ask who is talking,
what the person said, and tell each student to write the
sentence.
- Ask: What will you write first? Response: The boy said. Tell them to write that on their paper.
- When they are finished writing, write The boy said, on the board. Have the students check what they wrote. Ask: Did you remember the comma?
- Ask: What did the boy say? After they respond, tell them to write it in their sentence. When they are finished, write it on the board and then read the entire sentence.
- o Ask: Did everyone remember the quotation marks? Did everyone remember the capital letter? Do your sentences look the same as this one on the board? If any are different, students correct them.
(Leave the sentences on the board for reference.)
Independent practice
Review the work from the previous day.
Give the students a worksheet containing 6-7 direct discourse statements without punctuation. Use the 4 sentences used in Guided Practice and add 2 or 3 new ones.
Have the students complete the worksheet by adding the punctuation.
When they are finished, put up a chart with the same unmarked sentences as the worksheets.
Have individual students add the punctuation and capital letter to each sentence. The students can check and correct their work.
Show the students five pictures with speech balloons. Tell the students to write a sentence about each picture, for example, the first one would be: Mom said,“I am hungry. I will make some cookies.”
When they are finished, have one student write the first example on the board. If the students (and teacher agree) that it is correct, the other students can check and correct their first work, if necessary.
Continue in the same manner with the other sentences.
Independent application
During guided reading, give special attention to the direct discourse statements, making sure the students understand who is talking and what they are saying.
Incorporate direct discourse statements into language experience stories and other activities during the day.
Continue with units on the discourse comment clause in initial and medial position using similar steps and procedures.